TRUMP SUGGESTS RENAMING NEW MEXICO

US President Donald Trump has suggested changing the name of the state of New Mexico to “New America,” in another proposal involving the renaming of geographical locations.

Trump made the suggestion in a social media post on Sunday, saying some people had proposed replacing “New Mexico” with “New America.” The White House later reposted an image showing the word “Mexico” crossed out and replaced with “America.”

The proposal was quickly rejected by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who said the state’s name was not open for debate and had existed before the United States was established.

Trump’s suggestion comes shortly after he ordered the renaming of Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” following his earlier push to have the Gulf of Mexico referred to as the “Gulf of America” by the US government.

The latest proposal has attracted attention because changing the official name of a US state would involve a constitutional process and cannot simply be done through a presidential social media post.

Some reports have also suggested that the “New America” idea began circulating online as a joke or hoax before Trump amplified it.

The governor maintained that New Mexico’s historic name would remain unchanged despite Trump’s suggestion.